At Gouldson Legal we believe that when you suffer an injury, are in an accident or are ill, you should always have access to quality legal representation, no matter what has happened to you. We believe you have the right to legal representation, no matter your financial circumstances.
That is why we operate on a No Win, No Fee basis for every client and every case.
We understand that when you undertake a personal injury claim, you are often in a difficult and financially unsure time in your life. That is why we do not charge, if you are not successful in your claim. No Win, No Fee. Simple. So if you’ve suffered an injury through no fault of your own, or illness is preventing you from working, we’ll stay by your side to get you back on your feet.
Please be aware that we are a personal injury law firm only, and as such do not take on cases outside of this area of law. However, we have an extensive list of other client focused firms that we work with who we can refer you to for other matters.
How our No Win, No Fee works:
- It applies to all personal injury cases we take on, for every client we work with;
- It isn’t based on an assessment of your finances. No matter your financial situation, if you open a case with us, you are covered by our No Win, No Fee, No Problems Guarantee;
- If you don’t win, we don’t charge;
- We critically assess every case, to ensure that legal avenues are in your best interest.
Our No Win, No Fee policy covers every case we open, it is not a judgement of your financial position. It is a benchmark we put in place to ensure every one of our clients feel secure in the knowledge that Gouldson Legal will never put them in a worse financial situation than the one they come to us in.
To ensure we never mislead you, we assess what has happened to you critically, before we open a case for you. We go through all the details of your accident, illness or injury and ensure that our legal process is in your best interests. If we think there is another option, that will be better for you, we will tell you what that is and assist you in any way we can.
Why our 30% cap is important to you:
- It’s a failsafe, we charge at competitive rates, not an overall percentage;
- It is in place to protect your final in-pocket amount;
- It’s 20% lower than other major firms, which means more in your pocket;
- It ensures we always bill the smallest amount.
A fee cap is the highest percentage of your settlement that any firm can claim for their professional fees. The majority of personal injury firms cap at 50%, meaning they can walk away with half of your settlement amount. We think this is unfair.
At Gouldson Legal, we believe you should get more in your pocket. That is why we charge at competitive rates, not a percentage of your settlement. Our 30% cap is an extra measure, to ensure that we will never charge more that 30% plus outlays. This ensures that we are always taking the smallest amount, not the largest.
How your Free Case Review works:
- You speak with a lawyer, not a paralegal or trainee;
- Your lawyer will listen to your situation and provide some initial advice;
- Your lawyer will explain whether or not taking legal action is in your best interest;
- If it is, they will organise a time to meet with you face to face, and go through the next steps;
- That lawyer that you first speak to will be your lawyer, for the life of you case.
At Gouldson Legal every client is entitled to and will receive a free case review, for any case they have. If you call us about an accident at work and then need to talk about a car accident, you can do so, both times, for free.
You can call and speak directly to a lawyer or submit an enquiry online and have a lawyer call you. You explain what has happened to you, how this has affected you and why you need to make a claim. Your lawyer will talk through the relevant legislation or body (e.g. WorkCover) and give you some initial advice on your best path forward.
If the team decides that opening your case is in your best interests, you will then meet with your lawyer and begin the process of opening your case, confirming the best path forward and moving towards your result.
When you choose Gouldson Legal, you are in good hands.
Common Questions:
Yes. This is not a one-time offer, it is not limited to one per customer. We operate with our No Win, No Fee Policy because we want to ensure that no matter the outcome, your financial position will never be negatively impacted by Gouldson Legal.
We want to ensure you get back on your feet, every time.
The only condition is if you are found out to have been fraudulent in your instructions, or to have materially lied about the circumstances. In those circumstances we reserve our right to recover our fees and outlays from you.
Aside from that, there are no conditions. No Win, No Fee. Simple.
Our fees are charged at a competitive rate, not a percentage of your compensation payout, although we do use a 30% cap, to ensure you receive the bulk of your settlement; not us. These rates differ depending on skill level, experience and qualification levels of the person handling your case.
However, as mentioned we ensure that only one lawyer (and their assistant) handle your case, so you will never have to waste time re-explaining your situation to a different lawyer.
A fee cap is the highest percentage of your settlement that any firm can claim for their professional fees. The majority of firm’s cap this is 50%, meaning they can walk away with half of your settlement amount.
At Gouldson Legal we cap our fees at 30% plus outlays, because we think you deserve that extra 20% in your pocket. Even if the work we do is more that 30% of your settlement, we cap at 30%.
For example, if your claim settles for $100,000 and our professional fees exceed $30,000 they will be capped at $30,000; 30% of the settlement. If the fees are less than $30,000, for example $20,000 then the fees will be billed at $20,000.
You will be billed whichever figure is the smallest, because we want you to end up with the most in your pocket; not in ours.
It is important to remember that the 30% cap is a worst case scenario.
The Legal Profession Act 2007 imposes on firms acting for clients, in personal services litigation claims on a No Win No Fee basis, an ultimate restriction on how we can charge you, the client, for our professional fees.
This restriction is called the 50% Rule’ and simply put means…
$(Client settlement sum + recovered legal costs) – (Refunds required by law to any other party +Outlays incurred by us running your claim) / 2 = $maximum professional fees.
This means that no firm can claim more than 50% of your final payout. Lucky for you we have added an extra cap, we cap our professional fees at at 30% of your settlement amount. This means that if you were to get the same result with another firm, you could potentially end up with LESS in your pocket, even if the payout amount was the same; because they could take up to 50%, something Gouldson Legal will not do UNLESS that is a better outcome for you because your refunds are substantial.
What are outlays and why are they additional? Outlays refer to the actual expenses incurred in the progression of your matter, things that we cover so that you don’t have to pay out of pocket during your case. This includes items such as;
– Report Fees; as related to your medical history
– Barrister’s Fees; as required for your conference
– Expert’s Consultation Fees
– Minor Administration Fees
These are additional as they were not charged to you during the course of case, but they were necessary to your claim. We charge these additional at the end of your case, so that you are not hit with any nasty consultation fees while you are going through such an uncertain financial time. These are only payable at the conclusion of your successful claim.
Unlike many other firms we do not charge interest on the successful resolution of a matter on the cost of the outlays which have been incurred throughout the course of conducting the matter.